Mike Rayner, ASA East Region Swimming Officials Manager, has put together this useful guide to the current situation regarding swimming officials qualifications, which should help those who are already qualified, and people looking to take officials qualifications.
"Several people within the Region have “ banked “ theory passes in Timekeeper, Judge and Starter elements under the old system of training. These are still valid up to and including the 30th September 2008. If you are one of these people, you need to arrange for a practical examination with your County Organiser for whatever duty before the above date. Any theory passes after this date will be deemed null and void and the candidate, should they so wish, will need to embark on a course of instruction within the new training structure.
Under the new training system which began 1st October 2007, all those undertaking training for any qualification MUST be a member of a club affiliated to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), Scottish Amateur Swimming Association (SASA) or the Welsh Amateur Swimming Association (WASA) or indeed, be an individual member of the Institute of Swimming (IOS). Once you become a member of a swimming club, and in our case, the paperwork is sent to the ASA by your club, then it will take up to two weeks for the ASA to issue your registration number.
CLUB TIMEKEEPER
Clubs wishing to organise a course leading to this qualification should contact the Regional Organiser (Mike Rayner). Whilst there is no formal application form for this qualification, may I request that clubs use the British Swimming application form for each of their candidates as it will give me all the information required to go on my database.
The candidates should be 14 years of age as of the day of application and the course will consist of one session of theory followed by a practical assessment. It is intended for this course to be an introduction into the swimming official world. Some people may just want to go this far but others may want to go further and venture into the British Swimming level of qualifications.
The course will cost £25.00 for a maximum of 10 people ie if there are 11 then the cost would be £50.00.
The process is as follows. The club will need to complete an application form for each candidate with ALL of the boxes filled in and send to the Regional Organiser with the appropriate cheque made out to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA). The Regional Organiser will enter all the details on to a database and send the details to County Organiser for him/her to appoint a Course Leader. The Course Leader will then contact the club to arrange a convenient time and place to start the course. It should be noted at this stage that the Club is responsible for providing the CLUB TIMEKEEPER WORKBOOK which can be downloaded from either the British Swimming website or, the East Region website. Click here to download this workbook.
Once the Course Leader is satisfied that the candidate has met all the requirements to become a Club Timekeeper, he will notify the Regional Organiser, through the County Organiser. The Regional Organiser will record this on the database, write a letter of congratulation to the candidate together with a certificate. The Regional Organiser will also inform the ASA to update their records and it should be noted at this point that the Club Timekeeper is purely an ASA qualification.
JUDGE LEVEL1 and JUDGE LEVEL 2/2S
These are British Swimming qualifications. The minimum age to commence training is 15 years of age as of the day of application. Some people may decide that this is the best option for them. If they desire to go further than the Club Timekeeper then perhaps the best option would be for them to start at JUDGE LEVEL 1. This includes all of the Timekeeper, Chief Timekeeper, Inspector of Turns and Chief Inspector of Turn elements.
JUDGE LEVEL 2 includes all the elements listed above but has Judge of Stroke, Finish Judge and Chief Finish Judge elements added.
JUDGE LEVEL 2S is for training to become a STARTER.
Please note that the qualifications are progressive. JUDGE LEVEL 1 must be completed before the commencement of JUDGE LEVEL 2, JUDGE LEVEL 2 before JUDGE LEVEL 2S and JUDGE LEVEL 2S before REFEREE.
The application procedure is by completion of the application form and sent to the Regional Organiser together with a cheque for £8.00 per applicant made out to the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA).
Once a minimum of six people (6) have been identified in a County then the Regional Organiser will collate the information and send to the appropriate County Organiser. This will include the correct number of workbooks required for that discipline. The County Organiser will appoint a Course Leader who will then arrange a suitable venue and time to be used and notify the candidates accordingly. Once the candidate has reached the correct standard expected then the Course Leader will notify the Regional Organiser again through the local County Organiser. The process of notification to the candidate will be exactly the same as for CLUB TIMEKEEPER.
Course Workbooks may be obtained from the websites before a course starts but the candidate SHOULD NOT start to fill them in until a Course Leader has been appointed .
Click here for Judge Level 1 Workbook.
Click here for Judge Level 2 and Level 2(S) Workbook.
